TAMPA, Fla. -- Speaking publicly for the first time this offseason, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said that contract extension talks "are not anywhere close to what we were thinking" and that it's "time to get something done long-term."
General manager Jason Licht has said multiple times this offseason that there isn't a specific timeline the Bucs are working off of. But Mayfield said he and his agent, Tom Mills, provided one: by training camp, which will open in late July.
"Obviously, yes, I would love to have a long-term deal done, but they know my deadline: As soon as training camp starts, we're not doing any contract stuff. It's all ball," Mayfield said. "It's not up to me when that gets done by. So hopefully before that. If not -- still going to have a good year."
Mayfield is entering the third year of a three-year contract extension signed in 2024.
"We'd love to be here long-term. And as of right now, that's not exactly the case, but I'm under contract for 2026," Mayfield said. "And the guys in that locker and the staff know that I'm still going to be me. I'm still going to do everything I can to help this team win a Super Bowl. And to me, that's the priority. Everything else will take care of itself."
Mayfield and his wife, Emily, just welcomed their second child, Maverick, this offseason. They've become fixtures in the Tampa community, supporting local diaper banks and early childhood learning programs, donating equipment to a high school football team and awarding college scholarships to walk-on athletes.
But Mayfield is averaging $33.33 million per season -- 16th in the league in terms of quarterback pay. It should be noted, however, that fellow journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold, who just won a Super Bowl, is making $33.5 million. But Mayfield wants to be rewarded with long-term security.
"I think first and foremost, regardless -- we've built roots here in Tampa," Mayfield said. "We love the community. We love to be here. They've embraced us, and we enjoy being here and obviously going to raise kids here. But yeah, contract stuff -- it's happening, it's starting, the talks and whatnot, but not anywhere close to what we were thinking."
Mayfield also called the loss of franchise scoring leader Mike Evans in free agency "disappointing" and said he thought Evans would remain with the team his whole career, having already spent 12 seasons there. Instead, Evans signed with the San Francisco 49ers.
"There's no way to sugarcoat it -- it's disappointing to not have him back," said Mayfield, who conveyed his disappointment by sending teammate Chris Godwin a text message with a sad face emoji. "Just the caliber of player he is -- he's a Hall of Famer -- I thought he deserved to be a Buc for life. Things happen. But luckily, him and I have a great relationship. [We're] still good friends for life. I'll be cheering him on except when we play them, if it comes down to it."
Mayfield sees it as an opportunity for Godwin, who is entering his 10th season, to make even more of an impact. He is also a home-grown Buc as a third-round draft pick in 2017 and is now the elder statesman of the Bucs' wide receivers room.
"He's always been an unbelievable leader, but for him to really take charge of that room, and for the guys that, with all the injuries that we had, a lot of guys played last year," said Mayfield, expressing excitement about Jalen McMillan, Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson too, so to also have J-Mac, Chris and Emeka really, really healthy right now, feeling good -- to lead those guys and just to watch the steps from Year 1 to Year 2 when it comes to Meck and Tez and watching them help Ted Hurst out as well -- so there's a lot of weapons in that room. And so when you lose a guy like that, you got to have a lot of people fill those shoes, not just one person, and we have that."
This isn't the first time that Mayfield has encountered uncertainty or expressed frustrations about the pace of discussions. Extension talks moved slowly in 2024, and Mayfield said at the time that they were filled with "ups and downs." He and Evans exchanged text messages back then, as both players were negotiating new deals, and both players wound up returning in 2024.
It's unclear if they'll continue doing that while wearing different jerseys, but Mayfield feels having that prior knowledge of the team's inner workings and coming away with a contract that felt fair last time -- is "beneficial."
"I think anytime you have prior knowledge, that definitely helps," Mayfield said. "But also, they know who I am. They know it doesn't matter what the contract is. That's not going to change my work ethic, the leadership aspect of it, what I try and bring to the guys, try and elevate everybody. So yes, there's helpful things when it comes to negotiating, but at the same time, it really comes down to just you worry about giving somebody that much money, if it's going to change them, if it's going to change their attitude, how they show up every day in the building -- and for me, that's not the case."
He has long said that the Bucs got the best version of him -- a player who set personal bests in 2023 and 2024 and led his team to division titles those years -- because they let him be himself. The team's playoff appearances were no small feat considering they were playing with $80 million in dead money in the first year after Tom Brady's retirement, meaning many young players were asked to take on bigger roles.
It also meant they didn't have much cash to spend on a quarterback. That's where Mayfield came in. The Bucs were the 2018 first overall draft pick's fourth team. He took a one-year, "prove it" deal worth up to $8.5 million and threw for 4,044 passing yards and 28 touchdowns in 2023. Then in 2024, he threw for 4,500 passing yards, and recorded 41 passing touchdowns. Mayfield couldn't replicate that in 2025, however, throwing for 3,693 yards and 26 touchdowns, with the team never having its entire healthy starting offense or even anything close to it.
That could ultimately work in his favor if a deal doesn't come to fruition this offseason, if he's able to rebound strongly.
"They gave me a chance at a point in my career when I really needed it and helped me out, but I think I did the same as well," Mayfield said. "So it's time to get something done long-term and I would love to be here long-term, but regardless, I think we'll be here in the offseason."